Blind Bitten
by twinrose84
Summary: When Daleel succumbs to an illness brought on by the U-serpents, Aladdin and the others must race against time to find a cure. But when the U-serpents have an unexpected ally, will it be more than they can handle? Follow-up story to Aladdin and the Slithering Serpents and sequel to Switch and Bait.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Hi all, another Aladdin story up, and this is a direct sequel to "Switch and Bait", featuring the U-serpents once again as the villains, alongside a familiar villain who makes a very welcome entrance in this story (might as well spoil you because he's in the prologue: it's Mozenrath - I've had a few stories plotted with him as a villain in them for some time, but I hadn't had the chance to sit down and write them until now). Daleel and Safir are also back as the main secondary characters. Kind of goes without saying that Aladdin, Jasmine, and the rest of the cast have their hands full in this adventure._

_Summary: When Daleel ends up crossing the U-serpents befriending an unlikely ally during a chance encounter near his home, it just the beginning of his troubles. One of the U-serpents bites the boy, causing Daleel to succumb to a consuming fever and blindness. It's a race against time as Safir recruits Aladdin and his friends to find the cure. Daleel fights for his life, but realizes that as he loses one sense, he gains another, and it may be the only thing that'll keep Aladdin and his friends alive in the evolving plan the U-serpents and said enemy are planning. Can Daleel hold on long enough to warn Aladdin and the others of the upcoming dangers in time?_

_All characters and locales from Aladdin are copyrighted to their original creators/copyright holders. Daleel, Safir, and the U-serpents (as well as this overarching story) are mine though - I just wanted to tell a fun tale. As always, I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did writing it._

**Blind Bitten**

**Prologue: An Odd Alliance**

It was a blustering night in the Land of the Black Sand. Quiet streets, deserted buildings, only the sound of old drapes flapping in the breeze along the abandoned city that stood not far from Mozenrath's domain. And yet, the sorcerer wasn't exactly quiet himself, as his fist slammed against the roundtable in his quarters.

"I am _starting_ to lose my patience, Xerxes," he said, his voice in a measured tone that made his companion shiver in midair. "Now have you, or have you not found these so-called wanderers who have been said to give Aladdin and his companions trouble over the past few moons? I'm very interested in seeing what power these...creatures...have that I have not."

"H-have found them. Not much power at all, Master. You have more power!" Xerxes stammered.

"That's not what I asked you," Mozenrath said calmly before aiming a magic blast with his glove toward the creature. Xerxes yelped, and ducked behind a nearby column before the blast took out a chunk of it. "Would you care to try again?"

"Giant snake creatures, move like humans on land, call themselves U-serpents," Xerxes said quickly, peeking from behind the column. "Bites have power."

"Hmm," Mozenrath seemed to give this information thought. "Snake beings with the ability to exert influence in their bites. Not entirely original. Still, I'm more interested in seeing what that could result than whatever other petty tricks they may have up their sleeves. Very well then, it would seem I have to pay a visit to these snakes and figure out for myself how they managed to nearly conquer my single greatest annoyance."

"Master isn't thinking of...joining them?" Xerxes said, hissing.

"I work _alone_, you know that," Mozenrath said, his tone sharp as he cut his eyes toward his companion. "But I know an opportunity when I see it. It may be just the bend that we need to break Aladdin's backbone - once and for all."

* * *

Garan, Faran, and Ajan sat around a slowly burning fire in the middle of the desert - where they were, yet again, driven away as a part of their last entanglements with Aladdin, Jasmine, and the rest of the citizens of Agrabah.

Their Genie had especially burned them in the U-serpents's last attempt - among many - to conquer Agrabah. They'd had the idea of trying to convert several citizens into potential recruits for the U-serpents, but Aladdin and the Genie had caught on somehow and yet again drove them out of the city. They'd also tried to kidnap Princess Jasmine and tried to completely erase her memory of ruling over Agrabah by banishing her into another dimension through a magic mirror. Yet Aladdin had found a way into the dimension, helped her recall her memories, and brought her back through trickery, even when they'd crafted a ransom note for the Sultan.

Suffice to say, their ability to come up with successful plans against the kingdom were running thin.

"Perhaps-s we should consider Agrabah a lost cause," Garan, the green eyed U-serpent, said with annoyance. "We've tried everything to bring them down and are repeatedly foiled for our attempts-s."

"Nonsense!" Ajan, the yellow eyed U-serpent, snapped. "There are s-still faculties we haven't tapped into to use against them. We know the primary annoyances lie with the Prince and his s-stubborn Genie. Nuisances-s they are, but we've come close to beating them before. I am certain we can find other ways of subduing them and taking Agrabah for ourselves-s."

Neither of the U-serpents expected the voice that emerged from the shadows at that point. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance? We share a common enemy - it would make more sense to strike them when they least expect."

Ajan, Faran, and Garan stood abruptly. "Who dares to speak to us from the shadows-s, if even to eavesdrop on our affairs-s?" Faran, the red-eyed serpent, demanded. "For that, fool, you should have your tongue cut from your throat!"

"Now is that any way to treat a potential comrade?" A figure emerged from a mass of swirling black sand to stand before the U-serpents, the glow of the fire revealing his form. "You three and I both find Aladdin and his companions annoying, though I wouldn't mind seeing them completely destroyed and Agrabah to fall to more capable hands."

Garan started to speak, but Ajan put a hand in front of his comrade to silence him. "Wait, Garan. I think I know who this-s sorcerer is. Are you the commander of the Black Sand - the one they call Mozenrath?"

Mozenrath feigned a modest expression. "You flatter me, serpent. And I've heard about you three from talks around the seven deserts. You've managed to come close to bringing the kingdom to its knees. Close, but yet so far."

"Hmph. What does-s a sorcerer want with a kingdom like Agrabah?" Ajan pressed.

"I have my own kingdom, I have no interest in taking Agrabah for my own. But I don't like them meddling in my affairs." Mozenrath's expression went dark.

"So you want us-s to help you rid of Aladdin and his-s companions?" Faran said, raising a brow.

"_Nothing_ would make me _happier_. Of course, it would mean we'd have to establish some ground rules."

"No one s-said we would work with you, s-sorcerer," Ajan said. "And even if we were, we have measures-s we would like you to observe as well."

Mozenrath had to struggle to keep his expression neutral. Apparently the U-serpents weren't stupid and easily manipulated as he'd assumed. That could work for and against his overarching plans. "Very well, I'll hear your demands first."

Ajan, Garan, and Faran looked upon each other, then conferred in a series of whispers before regaining their ground and turning to face the sorcerer.

Garan was made to be the speaker of the terms. "Very well, one called Mozenrath. We have three terms-s. We would like to be the ones-s in charge of executing the plan. We would like to claim Agrabah for ourselves-s. And you will leave the fate of the one called Aladdin to us-s."

Mozenrath felt his insides turn as quick as his thoughts. _ But I was supposed to be the one to destroy Aladdin! Ugh. I suppose in the bigger picture having him destroyed is the better option than being the one who does it. And it leaves less work for me._

"Very well, those are all terms I can agree to. The main player I want among them is Aladdin's Genie, and maybe even the fair Princess Jasmine to have someone rule beside me in my kingdom. The rest you can do what you want with them, only I would like to see how you decide to rid of Aladdin."

Ajan grinned, his sharp teeth reflecting in the light of the fire's flames. "That can be arranged."

And the two parties seemed to come to an agreement - though they weren't aware of the horror struck presence that had witnessed their union.

**Chapter 1: Once Bitten, Twice Ill**

Daleel hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the U-Serpents. He was just on his way to the city after gather up some supplies for Safir. Sure, the merchant turned mystic had warned Daleel against traveling at night, and Daleel had assured him it wouldn't take THAT long, but he hadn't expected the union as he was on his way back.

He found a nearby dune to hide behind, and overheard a good part of the U-Serpents' conversation with the odd sorcerer. Daleel didn't know who Mozenrath was - let alone had never set foot in the land of the Black Sand, but it sounded dangerous. The fact they were all conspiring against Aladdin and the others, as well as Agrabah, told the boy that they were up to no good.

_I've got to warn Aladdin. If they're planning to join forces to move against Agrabah, Aladdin needs to know. They might be able to stop whatever the U-serpents and Mozenrath are planning._

Daleel started to retreat, but Ajan chose that very moment to look in the boy's direction, and hissed loudly when their eyes met.

"_Spy!_ Get the boy!"

Daleel started to run toward the city, but was surprised when the sands beneath his feet clamped down on his bare ankles, preventing him from moving. He cried out, trying to yank free, but it rooted him until Ajan caught up and yanked him from the sands, pinning and squeezing him tight in his grasp.

"Let me go! _Let me go_!" Daleel cried.

"And there you have one example of how my powers can be useful to you," Mozenrath said with a smirk on his features.

"You chose the wrong place to be, boy," Garan hissed as the U-serpents gathered around him. Garan turned to Mozenrath. "The brat is one of Aladdin's allies. We've encountered him before in our travels-s."

Mozenrath's brow raised a little. "Is that so? Well, I've shown you a portion of my power. Why don't you show me what your abilities can do in this situation."

"We can give him the treatment," Garan said, grinning. "Turning him into one of us would be certainly s-something Mozenrath would be interested in seeing."

Ajan shook his head. "No, we've already done that. I've a better plan. Let _my_ bite s-speak for itself. I think it will be more s-suited to our overarching plan, and it will effectively rid us of this brat for good, if it goes well." Ajan peered down at the boy, his fangs bared.

Daleel struggled against Ajan's grasp, but to no avail as the U-serpent sank his fangs into the boy's shoulder. Daleel's scream pierced the night, just audible over the resounding laughs of the snakemen - and Mozenrath - sounded across the group.

* * *

Safir was starting to worry. It'd been a little after sunset when Daleel had headed out, assuring Safir that he wouldn't be gone long. Safir figured when Daleel returned, he would give the boy a good talking to. It was what every responsible guardian would do. The boy had no parents of his own, and Safir had taken Daleel under his wing since the sorceress Edelina had passed on. Safir had inherited her entire domicile, spells, and the like in her will, being her prime student and friend. It was a fitting home for them both - slightly bigger than the two of them needed, but he wasn't complaining.

Safir mentally kicked himself for even allowing the boy to convince him to travel by night. He sighed, finishing off the spell he conjured, and rose to go look for the boy. No sooner had he crossed the room than he heard the front door of their quarters close.

"Daleel, you are late! You have much explaining to..." Safir's voice cut short when he saw the boy leaning against the door, breathing hard, shutting his eyes while clutching a blood-stained shoulder.

"S-Safir..." Daleel began, blinking back tears. "T-they...You have to warn them..."

"Oh my word." Safir rushed over to the boy's side, just before Daleel collapsed at the foot of the door. Even as he gathered the boy in his arms, Safir couldn't help but realize how hot to the touch Daleel's skin was.

"What happened to you?" Safir asked, his anger melting into fear and concern for the boy.

"T-the U-serpents...one of them bit me. I-I ran away as fast as I could, but then I had a hard time seeing, and..." He paused, swallowing hard. "I feel really sick."

Dread filled Safir's heart, but he tried to maintain himself in front of the boy, so as not to send Daleel into further panic. "Do not worry, we will get you well. Come, let's get you off your feet."

But even as the words of comfort left Safir's mouth, he wasn't sure at all if there's anything they could do. He tried to search his mind for solutions as he put Daleel to bed, and treated his wounds. Even so, Daleel had a fever that wasn't breaking easily, and from the glazed look in the boy's eyes, Safir wondered if the effects of the U-serpents toxin weren't doing more than just bringing on the boy's fever.

He realized he would need more help than he himself would take on.

Later that evening, after Safir had managed to put Daleel to bed, he crafted a letter to send to Agrabah, and used a special magic to make a mystic bird as a carrier. It would be faster than trying to send a message the more traditional route.

The sooner that Aladdin and the others knew of this latest development, the better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Wanted Dead or Alive**

"_Mail call!_ Ugh, I hate doing that." Iago groaned, bringing in several scrolls between his claws into the Sultan's quarters. "Seriously, you guys don't know how to let a grudge go."

"The Sultan's still making you bring in his personal scrolls, Iago?" Aladdin said, a sly grin crossing his features.

"Don't _look_ at me like that! I'd like to see _you_ be the Sultan's personal lap pet."

Aladdin shrugged. "I wasn't the one who racked up that bill. And you're still paying him back, last time I checked."

"Oh go ahead, rub it in. Next time I catch you plucking something from the palace, don't expect me to vouch for ya."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Don't need to steal to eat anymore." Aladdin leaned his body against one of the palace columns, when something soared over his head in a golden stream of light that zipped through the room.

"What the..." Aladdin started, but Iago seemed equally as taken by the sight, dropping some of the scrolls to the floor.

"What the heck is THAT?" Iago shouted. "Is Genie messing around with his magic or somethin'?"

"Doesn't seem like his style," Aladdin said, making a grab for the stream of light that passed him. It zipped just beyond his grasp for a time, until he was able to finally grab it. He opened his hands long enough to realize it was a small bird made of a stream of golden magic, and in the bird's claws was a rolled up note. Before Aladdin could touch the bird, it disappeared, leaving behind the note.

Iago perched on Aladdin's shoulder. "Tell me somethin' good's coming outta this."

"Hang on. It looks like it's a note from...let's see." Aladdin studied it, and recognition made his brows lift. "Hey! It's from Safir! We haven't heard from him and Daleel in a while."

Aladdin took the time to read the note, and the more he read, the more his expression turned from surprise, to concern, to anger.

"What's it say, already?!"

Aladdin clutched the note in his hands. "Daleel's been attacked by the U-serpents, and it looks like Safir needs our help. I've gotta tell the others what happened."

Iago cringed. "Does this mean we're going on a field trip? At the very least, please say it means a detour to Getzistan."

Aladdin shook his head. "We need to get there as soon as we can, no detours. Safir says if we don't, Daleel's only gonna get worse. _ Much_ worse."

* * *

"I'm very glad all of you were able to come. He's getting more ill by the hour," Safir said with a long sigh. "I was able to get Daleel to tell me who attacked him, but he has a high fever, and is slipping in and out of consciousness. Worse also, I believe the effects of the toxin are causing Daleel to go blind."

Aladdin, Jasmine, Iago, Abu, Genie and Carpet all were taken aback, standing in the middle of Safir magic quarters. Daleel was in a room close by, resting with his door partially closed.

"Is there anything we can do?" Jasmine asked.

"That's one of the reasons why I summoned all of you here," Safir said, his brows drawn together. "I am within means of curing him, but I need specific materials to give him the potion that will dissolve the toxin. But I would need those materials quickly, otherwise Daleel will be taken by either permanent blindness or succumb to the fever he's under."

"Oh no!" Abu cried.

"That's horrible!" Aladdin said, clenching his fists at his sides. "Why would the U-serpents _do_ something like this?"

"Well," Safir said, running his fingers through his hair beneath his turban. "I can only imagine that Daleel either saw or heard something he wasn't supposed to. All I got out of him when he was last awake was that he encountered the U-serpents discussing you with a sorcerer of some kind, but he never told me the name."

"Uh..." Genie scratched his head. "That sorcerer could be anybody, as far as we know. Al's got a lot of enemies."

"Genie!" Aladdin and Jasmine warned, speaking at the same time.

"I wasn't saying that in a bad way," Genie said, wincing. "I mean who could we think of as far as sorcerers go that would wanna willingly work with the U-serpents? Minus the ones with supersized egos."

Aladdin groaned, running his fingers through his hair. "We can't worry about that right now as much as what we can do for Daleel. That should be our priority."

"Aladdin's right, we can't really know what the U-serpents are planning. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be cautious, but I think we'd better focus on Daleel and worry about what the U-serpents are doing later," Jasmine said.

Safir nodded, opening a book of different herbs and flora which seemed to be contained in a spell book. "What I need are some special plants that are located in three separate places. One at the Top of the World, one in the Cave of Wonders, and one in that underground tower where we were once imprisoned by the U-serpents."

"So, lemme get this straight," Iago said. "Two out of the three places we gotta go are U-serpent territory, and you want _us_ to go get stuff from _there_? _No way_, I'm hightailing out of here back to Agrabah. Too much risk, not enough benefit."

Genie grabbed Iago's tailfeathers before he could fly too far, frowning at the parrot. "Come on, Iago, you can't have that much of a chip on your shoulder. We're talkin' about a sick kid here."

"Yeah, and the fact I'm stretchin' out my neck for this is making ME sick. Hello? We're talkin' about the U-serpents, here," Iago protested. "Besides, maybe the kid can sleep it off and be better in the morning?"

Genie frowned, but carried Iago into the room where Daleel lay resting upon a makeshift bed, a cloth over his brow. His face was slightly flushed, and his eyes were closed. A low groan emerged from his tiny frame.

"How can you say no to that?" Genie asked gently, his shoulders slumping.

Iago looked guilty, even as Genie released him onto a nearby table. "Geez, the kid's really sick, isn't he? The U-serpents did somethin' like that? That doesn't seem like their style."

"I think it's a lingering effect of one of their bites." Safir said, his voice coming from the doorway where he'd followed Genie and Iago. Aladdin stood not far away with Abu perched on his shoulder. Jasmine and Carpet lingered close behind them.

"I remember when I was bitten. I was almost turned into one of them, " Aladdin said, recalling his first encounter with the U-serpents. They'd captured and bit him, trying to turn him into a member of their team, a presence called Versat. But Versat hadn't been able to take over Aladdin's body because of the Agrabah Prince's strength of will, and he was easily defeated. "Are you saying Daleel's turning into one of them too?"

Safir shook his head. "Garan was the one who bit you Aladdin, yes? Daleel told me Ajan bit him. I think each have their own individual magicks in their bites. Regardless, there isn't much time. I need to have enough time to make the anecdote before he gets any worse."

Aladdin nodded. "It might be faster if we split up into teams to get the stuff you need."

"That's the spirit, Al," Genie said, snapping his fingers. "How bout I go to the Top of the World, since that's the farthest place from here?"

"You sure you don't want any of us to go with you, Genie?" Aladdin asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine. It's a little chilly up there, but I think I can stay warm enough." Genie accidentally transformed into a bowl of chilli, which got him funny looks from everyone in the room. He sheepishly smiled before transforming again, into his usual form while wearing wool clothing.

"Abu and Iago could probably go to the tower," Aladdin suggested. "It's not that far from here and they could be right back with whatever you're looking for."

"Hey, I'm liking your thinking, Al," Iago said, though Aladdin gave the bird a side eye glance. "Less distance, less work. We'll be outta there in two shakes."

"Okay!" Abu agreed, giving an "OK" symbol with his paw.

"That just leaves the both of us and Carpet to go to the Cave of Wonders," Jasmine finished. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Aladdin?"

Aladdin nodded with confidence. "I think we can do it. Only thing all of us have to worry about is not letting the U-serpents on to what we're doing, and getting back here in time."

"Easier said than done," Genie said, pulling at the end of his curved beard. "But not to worry, if you get in a pinch, you can always wear a disguise." He used his magic to give Aladdin a large fluffy mustache, which it was clear by Aladdin's expression, the prince didn't approve.

Genie laughed nervously. "Heh, just a suggestion."

* * *

"So it's only a matter of time before Aladdin and the rest of them come flying to that boy's aid, and while they're dealing with that, Agrabah will be left to our devices," Mozenrath said as he was back in his domain of the Black Sand kingdom.

"What is master planning?" Xerxes asked, floating just over Mozenrath's shoulder.

"For now, we're the foxes following the hares." Mozenrath's lip tipped up in a corner. "Soon they'll be caught in a trap they can't get out of, and I'll be able to make my move."

Xerxes chuckled. "Master make his move. Aladdin be weary!"

"Yes," Mozenrath affirmed, looking into a mirror ball where he saw a vision of Aladdin and Jasmine taking off across the desert on Carpet. "Be very weary, Aladdin, because when I catch up to you, I will _finally_ taste the sweetness of destroying _all of you_."

Mozenrath's laugh echoed through the halls of his palace, startling a few of his undead guardsmen as they clumsily tumbled over their feet and staggered away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Cure Race**

Genie's teeth chattered as he made his way up a cold mountain, dressed like a lumberjack and climbing his way through thick patches of snow. Snow fell rapidly around him in sheets, and the wind blew wildly.

"Well, I guess I should've checked the weather report before coming up this mountain. Here I was thinking it would be a clear day for climbing!"

He materialized a climbing anchor in his hands, and threw it up on the final ledge of the mountain. It took him some time to scale it, but he managed against the wild wind and snow whipping around him.

He entered a dark cave, and Genie took the time to zap some magic on his crown, which yielded a hardhat with a light on it. He walked forward while holding a handheld map in his grasp.

"Lemme see, according to the map, Safir says the first plant should be somewhere around here. Just have to be careful so I don't step into any...Whoa!"

Genie hadn't watched where his steps were taking him until it was too late. Sure, on the map he was holding, there was the notation of a sharp drop in the center of the cave, which would lead down to the area where he could find the plant needed for Daleel's cure. But instead of taking the climb down, he fell and slid down slopes of slippery rock. It almost felt like going down a water slide. A rather bumpy one.

He landed face first at the bottom. Pulling himself to his feet and dusting himself off, Genie looked around, even as the light on his cap flickered in and out. "A little unexpected detour - understatement - but looks like I'm in the right place. Let's see..."

He looked around and found the place he sought. In a far corner of the area, in a patch of darkness were several clusters of plants with large leaves, which seemed like an odd place for a plant to grow, but Safir had mentioned the plant was a rare species, growing in darkness and didn't need nourishment from sun or water - rather it grew by a reserve of magic somewhere located far in the cave. Genie wasn't looking for the source of the magic, just the plant.

"That makes my job a little easier. Now I just have to gather enough leaves to fill this little sack, and I'll be outta here."

But as Genie started gathering the leaves into his handheld pouch, he heard a low groan behind him, and that made his blue face pale a little. He slowly turned around, and came face to face with a large creature - which looked like a cross between a polar bear and an eagle.

"Uh, hi Mr. Monster? I guess you don't want me gathering your food source or something?"

The beast growled in response. Genie flinched, not from the roar, but from the blast of the beast's breath that hit his face.

"Overly steamy and unpleasantly smelling breath." Genie clicked his tongue and pinched his nose.

The beast looked confused.

"What you need is a few sprays of breath freshener." Genie materialized a huge can of mint breath freshener in his hands and sprayed it directly into the beast's parted mouth. The beast coughed a few times, but seemed to notice the difference.

"See? Even you can tell it's better to have minty fresh breath."

The beast suddenly realized that Genie was distracting him and roared again, but by the time he recovered, Genie was already long racing away from the area, having enough of the leaves he needed for the cure.

Genie sighed when he finally reached the opening to the cave again. "Well, that was a hairy situation. Now it's back to Safir's. Guess I might end up being the last one to get there with all the trouble it took to get this."

* * *

Iago yelled as he flew (and Abu ran) from a cluster of scorpions that chased after them. Granted, Abu had the small sack of flower petals that Safir had asked them to gather in the underground labyrinth, but they'd gotten those and a little more than they'd expected.

Iago and Abu managed to catch their breaths around a corner of the area, hiding from the giant scorpions who seemed to search the area for them.

"Didn't I tell ya?" Iago said, his voice panicked. "I said it _clearly_. 'Gee, this seems too easy - plucking the petals off the flowers. I wonder if this might be a trap?' IT WAS A TRAP!"

Abu hushed Iago with putting a finger to his lips while gesturing to a possible escape route. Iago's beak clamped shut and he slowly nodded.

"Okay, possible plan - looks like a good one. Let's get outta here."

But as they started toward the direction of escape, a scorpion leapt in front of them, making Abu screech with panic. The scorpion tried to clip at Iago, who barely dodged his attacks. Abu ran between two sets of scorpion legs and motioned for Iago to follow him.

"Easier said than done, monkey! I'm a little _busy_ right now!" Iago managed to duck in time before two scorpions tried to clip him, but ended up clipping each other. Iago also had to think fast and drop a medium sized rock on one of the scorpions before he recovered, knocking the monster back to the ground.

He managed to catch up to Abu and the two raced through the twists and turns of the labyrinth until they came to the area where they'd entered the underground. There was nowhere to go but up, and that meant Iago had to carry Abu back up to the surface.

The scorpions, however, were hot on their heels. Iago carried Abu, who still clutched the tiny bag of petals they gathered, and had to do some creative avoiding of the scorpion's clips and jabs before flying frantically out of their reach. He didn't stop flapping his wings until they were safely back on the surface sands in the middle of the desert, just outside the tower they'd once been imprisoned back when the U-serpents had once captured them and they'd first met Safir.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Abu whimpered as he smoothed the edge of his tail. He'd been clipped a few times by the scorpions during their scuffle and the very end of his tail was a beet red and missing a few patches of fur.

"You think you have somethin' to complain about? Look at my wings! Ugh!" Iago looked around, just to be sure that nothing else had followed them, and sighed with relief as he sank to the sand. "I really hope that's the last time on this whole trip I have to subject myself to torment. Let's get back to Safir's."

"Uh-huh." Abu agreed, but then a floating shadow made Abu screech with recognition.

"Not going anywhere!" The familiar voice hissed. "Master says make sure you don't!"

Iago turned and bristled as he saw Xerxes snatch the bundle out of Abu's grasp with his tail. Abu screeched in protest.

Iago slapped a wing against his forehead. "Just when I didn't think this would get any worse. Come back you flying freak! That's ours!"

Xerxes flew a distance away as Abu and Iago clamored after him.

* * *

"Anything?" Aladdin asked as he searched around the treasure mounds. He'd arrived in good time with Jasmine and Carpet at the Cave of Wonders, but they hadn't known the first place to look for the magic herb needed for Daleel's cure. It hadn't been as easy to point out as Genie's herb, of the petals that Iago and Abu had been sent to find. Safir only knew the general location and that - the merchant turned mystic said - was tentative at best.

Jasmine shook her head from a distance away. "Nothing over here. Maybe we're looking in the wrong place. We might have to go deeper into the cave to find them."

Aladdin ran his fingers through his hair. "Looks like the U-serpents don't know we're here...yet."

"Wouldn't they have found us by now if they were?" Jasmine suggested.

"Well, we've been lucky so far." Aladdin looked over to where Carpet was searching an area of the treasure room. "Anything Carpet?"

Carpet turned and shrugged his knobs.

"We'll have to go deeper underground, then. Let's move." Aladdin and Jasmine boarded Carpet, while Carpet took them down a long tunnel leading down to the underbelly of the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin recognized the area, considering he'd fallen into the waters running beneath the cave in one of their first encounters with the U-serpents. He knew there were a series of secret areas down there, but he hadn't recalled any places where mystic herbs might grow. Still, as they followed the stream of water, Aladdin and Jasmine both scanned the area, looking for anything close to the description that Safir had given them on the mystic herb.

Jasmine was the first to spot it. She pointed when they came to an open area that led deeper underground, with a wide chiasm that led into what seemed like a bottomless darkness. "There! Look, isn't that what Safir said it looked like?"

Aladdin squinted. "Yeah, looks like it. Carpet, head toward that ledge."

Carpet sped forward, and landed them safely on the ledge where Jasmine started gathering the herbs quickly into the small handheld sack that Safir had provided them. Aladdin watched her carefully, looking around the area to make sure they hadn't been followed. He had the feeling that they were being watched, but couldn't see anything around to suggest anything awry. That bothered him. Maybe the U-serpents really weren't here. But if they weren't - where were they, and did it mean that they were up to something? And who was the so called sorcerer that was working with them?

"You think this is enough to help Daleel?" Aladdin was snapped from his trance by Jasmine's voice. He looked down to where she held the sack of herb leaves filled almost to the brim. She'd provided enough space to tie off the sack safely so the contents wouldn't spill.

"Looks like enough to me. Now we just have to head back."

"You're not going anywhere. Not if we have anything to s-say about it."

The familiar voice nearly made Aladdin groan as he recognized Ajan's hissing tone, but both Aladdin and Jasmine were startled by an arrow that flew between them, striking a nearby wall.

"Hurry!" Aladdin prompted, and the two boarded Carpet quickly. More arrows flew past them, one whistling past Aladdin's ear. He gripped Carpet's edge tighter.

"It's too dark below us, I can't see where they're shooting from!" Jasmine cried.

"Neither can I, but it's obvious they can see us. We need to keep our heads low. Otherwise...Aah!" Aladdin gasped as an arrow tore through Carpet's fabric. If he hadn't leaned back in that moment, the thick arrowhead would've impaled him. Jasmine chose the same moment to lean back as another arrow broke Carpet's fabric, but her timing was off as Carpet chose to angle up, and she lost her grip.

"_Jasmine!_" Aladdin cried as Jasmine fell into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Darkseer**

Daleel hadn't expected the many visions that flew before his sight. He was sure he wasn't dreaming. His normal vision was hazy, yet he could see the images clearly. The vision of Genie fleeing a half-eagle, half-bear beast, of Iago and Abu being chased by scorpions, and Jasmine falling from Carpet after an arrow pierced the fabric, and Aladdin calling out for her.

He wondered why he had the feeling they were more than just idle visions.

He sat upright quickly, and the last image of Jasmine falling disappeared just as soon as he caught his breath, clutching the blanket Safir had put over him in his hands. His body felt hot all over, his clothes damp with sweat.

"Daleel?" Safir called. He appeared in the doorway, and studied the boy who'd sat up in his sleeping area. Daleel could barely make out his form. "Oh, you are awake - thank goodness. I was beginning to worry. Is your vision any better?"

"No, I-I still have a hard time seeing anything." Daleel managed.

"Look up at me." Daleel felt Safir's hand tilt up his face. "It is as I feared. You really _are_ losing your vision."

"Safir, something's wrong."

"You're telling me. The fact you're still holding this fever isn't looking good. Not good at all." The merchant mystic's frown deepened.

"No, that's not what I mean. I keep having these...visions of things. I don't know what to make of them. They're the only things I see clearly, clearer even than what's in front of me."

"I'm sure they're just nightmares, Daleel."

"No, they're more than that...You have to believe me!"

Safir sighed. "Right now, I want you to rest. Do not argue with me." He eased the boy back in a lying position, putting a cold cloth on Daleel's forehead.

"But Aladdin and Jasmine, and the others..." Daleel trailed off with the thought, not sure how he could explain to Safir the content of his visions. There had been so many, he wasn't sure where to start.

"I'm sure they're all right. They'll be back soon. Don't worry yourself, m'boy," Safir said, his voice calm.

Daleel relented enough to lie down as Safir left the room, with the door half parted. But the boy was anything but calm. In his heart, Daleel knew those visions meant something more, and he couldn't shake the feeling that his friends were in trouble. He couldn't help but think that in part, it was his responsibility.

* * *

Genie was the first one back with his part of the cure. It would've been cause for him to celebrate, only he wondered what was taking the others so long.

At least Safir was happy to see him. "Genie! Good, you've come just in time, I finally have the potion heated and ready to take the materials."

"How's Daleel?" Genie asked, handing the small handheld sack to the merchant mystic.

"Still with fever. He can see somewhat, but it's in and out and steadily getting worse. The sooner he takes this cure, the better."

"And I'm guessing a certain parrot and monkey and Prince and Princess haven't stopped by for a chit-chat?" Genie asked, frowning.

"No, they haven't." Safir's shoulders slumped as he groaned. "Which is odd, because I would think that Abu and Iago..."

Before Safir could finish his statement, they both heard a loud crash from near one of the windows in Safir's workroom. Genie and Safir turned toward the noise to see Iago and Abu in the midst of a few fallen books from where they'd come in through the window.

"Okay, that's the last time I do any favors having anything to do with the U-serpents or a certain sorcerer that will go unmentioned," Iago said, his breaths coming in loud pants.

Abu agreed in a series of screeches, but handed over the sack of herbs to Safir.

"Are you both all right?" Safir asked, his brow narrowed.

"What does it _look_ like?" Iago brushed himself off, coughing from the dust that came from the knocked over books. "We just barely managed to get the herbs, and then we had to _steal_ them back from Mozenrath's _stupid_ lackey."

Genie's eyes widened. "Mozenrath?" Iago explained the whole story to Genie, which caused him to scratch his head. "Why do I get the feeling that you guys encountering Xerxes wasn't a coincidence?"

"_Hello?_ Even your _big blue brain_ should be able to figure _that one_ out." Iago flew and gave Genie a few knocks in the head with his wing. Genie glared at him, rubbing his crown. "Mozenrath's probably in on what happened to that kid, and tried to stall us."

"Wait, could that mean that the sorcerer Daleel saw was the one you call Mozenrath?" Safir asked.

"If that's the truth - that means..._Oh no_." Genie said, wincing. "If Mozenrath and the U-serpents are working together, Al and Jas are in big, _big_ trouble."

* * *

"Punch it, Carpet!" Aladdin said as he gripped Carpet's edge. He had to dive past a barrage of arrows, but he maneuvered Carpet straight toward Jasmine, who fell rapidly through the darkness beneath the underground of the Cave of Wonders.

But Aladdin wasn't expecting one of the U-serpents to catch Jasmine with ease a distance below. Jasmine scrambled to get out of Faran's grasp, but he wouldn't release her.

Aladdin was almost too stunned by the sight to catch Garan, who wasn't standing far from Faran, aiming one of their arrows at him. But instead of an arrow dipped in poison, Aladdin saw that the arrow had a burning flame at the end around the arrow tip. The U-serpent fired, and Aladdin barely had time to motion Carpet down to avoid the arrow skewering them both.

"Hold s-still! I can't kill you if you're s-squandering around like a fish," Garan hissed.

"That's exactly my plan," Aladdin snapped. He was careful not to reveal too much of his next move, which came to him quickly as he maneuvered Carpet from the next round of arrows. His timing came quick with a motion above them, towards a catapult held with ropes. Apparently this was some kind of fortified area the U-serpents had found, despite the dips of the underground chasms in the Cave of Wonders. If he could get those arrows to hit the ropes...

"Aladdin, look out!" Jasmine cried, as another flurry of flaming arrows looked like they would strike them.

"Carpet, down!" Aladdin shouted, and the timing was just right. The arrows flew past them safely, two of them hitting the ropes, which caused the catapult to fire straight toward the U-serpents...and Jasmine.

The U-serpents were shocked enough for Jasmine to scramble away and leap to where Carpet and Aladdin flew to catch her. But the U-serpents had to scramble themselves to avoid where the rock from the catapult hit the side of a nearby rocky column, causing large bits of it to fall their way.

That kept them busy, and Aladdin and Jasmine were relieved at their reunion, but it didn't last long for Jasmine as her expression yielded to panic.

"What's wrong?" Aladdin asked.

"The herbs for Daleel...they must've fallen when I got away."

Aladdin looked around where the U-serpents were, his eyes scanning the path, and though they were now a distance above where the U-serpents scrambled, he saw the pouch of herbs lying a fair distance away from them.

"I'll handle it. Carpet, take care of Jasmine and meet me at the ledge over that way." He pointed a far distance ahead. "The exit towards the surface of the Cave of Wonders is there. I can keep them distracted."

Jasmine's eyes widened. "You can't. What happens if they catch you?"

Aladdin winked. "They won't. They're quick, but I'm much faster."

Aladdin made the fair distance leap, rolling as he touched upon the solid ground and grabbed the herbs. But the U-serpents, who weren't as far away as Aladdin had judged, saw him. Ajan pointed a clawed hand towards him.

"Get him! He has the herbs-s!"

_Not exactly the getaway I had planned,_ Aladdin thought, but he ran as fast as he could along the path, with the three in pursuit. Faran still attempted to shoot flamed arrows over toward Jasmine and Carpet as he ran, but his aim was off and the arrows flew past them, from what Aladdin could observe. Jasmine clutched Carpet's rim and flew safely away, managing to go faster than Aladdin could on foot.

Aladdin had to time his running as careful as he could, because large areas of the path ahead of him were missing, and one false step could lead to him falling to certain death in the darkness. That seemed to slow the U-serpents down, because not all of them were able to make the jump just right. 3 pursuits turned to two when Garan realized he couldn't make the jump safely, leaving Ajan and Faran in pursuit.

Yet, when Aladdin reached a gap he knew he couldn't leap across, he skidded to avoid nearly falling over the ledge.

He looked back behind him to see the two U-serpents closing in on him, claws drawn at the ready.

"There's no way for you to escape now, s-street rat!" Ajan hissed. "We'll be cutting those herbs-s from your cold dead hands-s."

Aladdin looked over his shoulder, his nerves on edge, but he managed a smile. "That's what you think."

And he leapt over the edge, plunging into darkness.

* * *

At first the U-serpents were stunned by Aladdin's actions, until they looked down the ledge where they saw Jasmine and Carpet had safely caught him a distance down from where he'd leapt. They hissed with irritation.

"You're lucky we didn't go too far ahead of you," Jasmine said, folding her arms across her chest. "I had a feeling you would need us."

Aladdin smiled sheepishly. "Well, at least it worked out okay. Let's get outta here, Carpet."

Carpet gave a thumb's up with one of his knobs before speeding away, leaving Faran and Ajan far behind them.

"I can't shake the feeling the U-serpents were expecting us to be there." Jasmine smoothed a strand of hair away from her face as they sped through the underground tunnels on the way back to the treasure room of the Cave of Wonders.

"Yeah, I felt the same way. I hope Genie and the others didn't have any..._Carpet!_" Aladdin swallowed back his words when a sudden blast shook the area, and large rocks started to descend upon them. Aladdin and Jasmine both fell a fair distance to the ground of the tunnel. Though safe, they were stunned long enough to realize a section of the path had caved in, blocking them from moving forward.

"What was that?" Jasmine cried when she got her bearings, moving with Aladdin to push a rock that had pinned Carpet to the ground.

"Something caused that cave-in on purpose. I don't know where exactly it came from, but..." Aladdin trailed off, his mind finishing the sentence. _We aren't alone._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Chase**

Daleel realized he had to do something. Aladdin, Jasmine and Carpet were running right into a trap and they weren't even aware of how deep it ran. His visions were difficult to keep up with, but what little he did observe made him feel worse than the fever.

He didn't care if Safir didn't believe him, he'd find a way to help them out.

He eased to his door, locking it from the inside and went searching about the room for some of his spell books. He'd studied magic in this room for a long while, back when Edelina was still alive. Edelina was a sorceress who served as a teacher for Daleel and Safir alike, and was even Genie's former master, well before he met Aladdin and the others. Daleel was an orphan who, if Edelina hadn't found him, would've been wandering as a street thief for the rest of his life. When Edelina died, Safir took the boy under his wing. All of the sorceress's old possessions went to them, including the large home she resided near the next biggest desert town. Daleel continued his magic lessons under Safir, and had become better at wielding magicks.

Still, even with Daleel's rising skill, the boy knew he needed help trying to get to Aladdin and the others. He pulled books off the shelves, flipped through leaflets and crisp turns of pages to try to find the spell he was looking for. His vision kept going in and out, but he forced himself to focus.

"Let's see," he said, thinking aloud. "There's gotta be a teleportation spell that can take me straight to them, as long as I can picture one of them in my mind. I remember reading about it somewhere..."

He scanned the bookshelves high and low, though he had to be quiet while Safir worked in the other room.

It wasn't too long before he found what he was looking for, a simple incantation, but Daleel stifled a gasp when he heard the sudden jiggle of the lock to his room.

"Daleel? Daleel! Why did you lock the door? Open up!" Safir's voice was clear from beyond the door.

"The kid locked you out? Man, I guess he's goin' through a phase or somethin'," Iago said.

"Stand back everyone - I will knock the door down with my brute strength." Daleel heard Genie's voice from beyond the door, a momentary pause, and then a crash which vibrated the wooden door, but didn't so much as budge the lock.

Daleel was glad he'd put up that temporary magic block. It'd worked after all.

He started reciting the teleportation spell quickly, of an old language that had fallen out of spoken terms. He felt the surge of magic within and around him, floating around his aura. The heat added to his fever, making him dizzy, but he persisted.

It was only when he spoke the last word that the door flew open.

Daleel couldn't help feeling a pinch at his heart at their visual expressions as the magic started to take him away. Safir's expression holding the most horror.

"Daleel, NO!"

* * *

The boy had disappeared in a flash of blinding warm light that filled the room before any could reach him. Safir sank to his knees.

"Where the heck did he go?" Iago said, raising a brow.

"I think that's the most troubling thing." Genie put his hands on Safir's slumped shoulders. "Hey, Safir - what is it?"

Safir put his face in his hands. "It's all my fault. My fault. If anything happens to him, I..." His voice broke with sobs.

Abu and Iago looked between each other, uncomfortable.

Safir told them of Daleel's fever dreams, and of how Daleel thought Jasmine, Aladdin, and Carpet were in trouble.

"You mean the kid's gone straight in enemy territory?! That fever's got him talkin' and thinkin' crazy," Iago said.

"And he's getting worse...much worse," Safir said. "He doesn't know the limits of his body, the stubborn boy. His use of magic may speed his illness. We must find him and administer the cure."

"Don't you worry, Safir. We'll get him back, and we have all the necessary recruiters." Genie helped Safir to his feet, and transformed everyone in military garb, complete with hard hats. Genie pulled down a map and marked a big red X on it with a marker.

"All right soldiers. We're all gonna infiltrate the Cave of Wonders and find Al, Jas, Carpet, and Daleel. Safir, you bring as much of the cure as you can. Iago, you bring the monkey. Monkey, you bring some extra bananas. Danger tends to bring on the munchies."

Iago rolled his eyes while Abu gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Genie winced. "Might want to bring double the supply, monkey boy. I'm not looking forward to seeing Mozenrath or the U-serpent's ugly mugs anytime soon."

* * *

Jasmine gasped as Aladdin pulled her back from another section of the cave that decided to cave in with a blast of sand and falling rock. They both coughed.

"That's the third time that's happened so far," Aladdin said. He looked around. "Someone's following us and causing these cave-ins."

"Fine, if that's what you think," Jasmine said between coughing. "But so far, we haven't run into anyone else, and the U-serpents are still behind us. Maybe they set these traps ahead of time?"

"Maybe." Aladdin thought for a moment, and surveyed the area. There weren't many places left for them to go - for better or worse. "I guess we'll have to make our way back a bit - find another route. Carpet - you mind keeping up with us on foot?"

Carpet gave a small salute.

"Okay, let's keep going then," he said with a confident nod. Probably more confident that Aladdin actually felt, but he swallowed his worries. He was determined to get them out of there, no matter what. _Daleel and Safir need us, and I'm not going to let whatever traps they set keep us down here, that's for sure._

They walked a ways through the looping cave, trying to find some opening to the surface of the Cave of Wonders. They'd never been this far underground before, nor this deep.

Carpet suddenly flew forward, circling Aladdin frantically.

"What's wrong?" Carpet pointed to the path behind Aladdin. "Did you see something?"

"Someone," Jasmine followed. "I saw it too, just now. Someone's shadow."

"_Hey!_ Who's there?" Aladdin demanded, his voice echoing through the underground. Carpet suddenly lurched forward, speeding through the curve of the cave.

"Wait, Carpet, come back!" Jasmine cried. Aladdin and Jasmine raced after him, fast as they could manage on foot. They caught up long enough to see Carpet speeding on the path ahead of them into darkness, but a sudden blast shook the area.

"Not again!" Aladdin cried, shutting his eyes briefly as some debris and sand fell around them. Jasmine shielded her head with one arm, and steadied herself upon the wall of the cave with the other.

They both saw Carpet speeding toward them, as they recovered from the first blast. But then a second blast shook the underground more violently, and the path before them caved in, leaving Carpet trapped behind a wall of massive rocks, which continued to fall around them.

"Carpet!" Aladdin shouted, but his voice was drowned out by more falling debris. "Jasmine, _get back_. We have to get outta here."

Though both of them regretted leaving behind their friend, they raced out of the path of the rocks which continued to fall around them. They followed the twists and turns of the cave. At one point, Jasmine stumbled, but Aladdin was close enough to help her regain her footing and urge her forward. But he had to step back to avoid a large rock from crushing him, and he - in turn - lost his footing and fell back with nothing to catch him.

"Aladdin!" Jasmine's muffled cry was the last thing he heard as he slid down a dark stretch. His body hit hard against jagged stones, and darkness swallowed him.

* * *

"Impressive, s-sorcerer." Ajan said, as Mozenrath finished the last of his dark blasts, which caused the cave-ins. Mozenrath felt his hand ache under his magic glove, but then again, there was nothing but bone underneath the glove. He wasn't about to let the U-serpents know the toll his magic took on his body, though.

Xerxes looked concerned, but his expression went to a mask of indifference as Mozenrath gave him a stern look.

"The plan isn't done _yet_, snake," Mozenrath followed. "The Princess and the magic carpet can wait. I think they're alive, but limited enough for the time being. I want to deal with Aladdin first. I trust you three have an appropriate way of dealing with him?"

The three U-serpents looked among each other, grinning and hissing with laughter.

"Oh yes-s-s," Ajan followed. "We have a s-special punishment in s-store for the street rat. Very s-special, indeed."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Struggle**

Aladdin groaned, rubbing the small of his back as he sat up from where he'd landed. He realized that he couldn't go back up the way he'd came down.

_Jasmine and Carpet are still trapped somewhere up there, while I'm stuck down here. Maybe I can find another way to get back to them. Question is: how far does this tunnel go?_

Standing was a little harder for him to do, as he used the wall to ease himself to his feet. He was dizzy from the fall, and ached where he'd hit hard against several of the rocks. As far as he could tell though, he managed to be in one piece. No bruises or broken bones - and he'd fallen far enough to have more than a fair share of those.

How was that possible?

Before Aladdin could consider the answer, a voice broke through his thoughts. "Nice of you to drop in, Aladdin. I hope you didn't think I'd let you break your neck before dealing with you personally."

Aladdin whirled around as the familiar figure emerged from shadow. "_Mozenrath?_"

Mozenrath smiled a little, shrugging casually and scratching his fingers on his chest. "Yes, well, this might be the only time I decided to use my magic to save your pathetic life. Because let's tell it like it is: that was a _long_ fall down. And without your magic carpet to conveniently pick you up - let's consider your position - shall we say - compromised?"

Aladdin folded his arms across his chest, not amused. "What are _you_ doing here? Didn't we leave you and Xerxes running from the Hydra sand monster the last time we saw you?"

Mozenrath's guarded face faltered a moment, surprise turning to anger. "Not even a moment for us meeting again and you're _insulting_ instead of _thanking_ me?"

Aladdin realized then just how much Mozenrath had been a part of their problems from before, let alone the U-serpents. "I don't think I should be thanking you for causing those cave-ins from earlier. Especially since _you were trying to kill us_."

"Ah, so you noticed?"

"A little hard not to," Aladdin snapped. "Daleel mentioned that a certain sorcerer joined up with the U-serpents in order to get my attention. I'm guessing that's you?"

Mozenrath shrugged. "So it seems. You're here now, aren't you? I'd say at least that part of the plan worked according to schedule."

"You hurt a little kid just to get to me. That's low even for your standards, Mozenrath."

Mozenrath held up his hands. "Actually, I didn't touch the boy. Well, apart from keeping him from running off and telling you of the newly minted arrangement I'd made."

"Well you can consider that arrangement over," Aladdin said, standing to attention.

"Actually," Mozenrath said, his expression turning dark. "I would say it's just beginning."

That set off a warning in Aladdin's mind. He didn't see the U-serpent leaping for him from behind, but he did manage to sidestep the attempt, sending Garan stumbling forward awkwardly, until he landed flat on his face.

Aladdin gained ground, but not before arms clasped around him from behind, and Ajan hissed - his tongue flickering near Aladdin's ear. "It's-s not long before the street rat gets-s caught in the obvious trap, wouldn't you s-say, all?"

Faran came from his shadowy hiding place, hissing with laughter. "You fell for it well, Aladdin."

Aladdin grunted as he struggled against Ajan's grasp, but the U-serpent was much stronger, tightening his grip that made Aladdin wince, his body shuddering with the pain that shot up his spine.

Mozenrath clapped slowly. "Bravo. I must admit I'm enjoying seeing the life being crushed out of you, Aladdin. And the U-serpents have promised me that you'll have an agonizing death. I'm just the spectator."

"You should learn to fight your own battles," Aladdin said through clenched teeth.

Mozenrath pretended to yawn. "Arguments, arguments. You're on the losing end here. There's one of you, and four of us -"

"Make that five!" A voice came from a fair distance in the darkness. A panting Xerxes came into view, seemingly out of breath.

Mozenrath rolled his eyes. "Xerxes, you're late. I told you the schedule plainly - you get the herbs from the monkey and parrot, and then you arrive back here to watch Aladdin die. Is that too much to ask?"

At first Aladdin was weirded out by the morbid schedule that Mozenrath proposed, but the mention of Iago and Abu made his nerves stand on end.

"You did at least get the herbs from them, didn't you?" Mozenrath continued.

Xerxes looked hesitant. "Uh, plan did not go as planned."

"What?" Mozenrath's tone was flat and annoyed. "Must you always fail on the one little task I demand of you?" Mozenrath aimed a blast of dark sand magic with his glove at a rock that was near Xerxes. Xerxes made a shrill shriek, before darting away as the blast barely missed him.

Aladdin grinned. "Pretty pathetic when your lackey can't even steal a bag of herbs, Mozenrath."

To Aladdin's surprise, Mozenrath smiled. "We may not have been able to take theirs, but we can certainly take yours. After all, yours is just one of the pieces determining whether that brat lives blind or dies."

Aladdin shrugged casually, but his insides turned at the mention of Daleel's condition. He didn't want to give Mozenrath or the U-serpents the satisfaction. "Well, you might be disappointed then. I don't have them."

Ajan hissed, tightening his grip around Aladdin, which made the Prince wince. "S-stop lying, fool. We s-saw you earlier grab them when the Princess-s dropped them."

"Might've had them then, but I don't have them now. For all you know, Carpet and Jasmine are heading back now to give Daleel their part of the cure, and there's not much you guys can do about it. " Aladdin recalled giving the herbs back to Jasmine when they'd reunited. Part of him was glad he hadn't held onto them, knowing the situation he was in at present.

Mozenrath scoffed. "Your bluffing might work on these snakes, but not on me." At that moment, Mozenrath used his magic glove to send a spiral of dark magic, striking Aladdin even as Ajan held him. The blast was so great that it knocked both of them against the wall, even as Aladdin took the most of it.

"Watch where you're aiming your magic, s-sorcerer." Ajan snapped, recovering faster than Aladdin, who coughed as he knelt on the ground. "You're fortunate that I have thick s-skin. Besides, we had an agreement about who was to kill him."

_These guys talk too much_, Aladdin thought, wondering also if there was any clear way he could get out of there before they decided to do anything.

As if on cue, an odd melody started to play, echoing along the walls of the underground. It caught Mozenrath and Xerxes by surprise, but didn't seem to have any effect on them.

On the U-serpents, however, the melody might as well been a series of explosions. The snake beings held their hands over their heads, as if to block out the melody.

"Make it s-stop!" Ajan hissed, holding his own head.

_Okay, I guess that's a lucky break_, Aladdin thought, and used his momentum to run to the nearest turn in the path. Mozenrath noticed.

"He's getting away!" Mozenrath aimed another timely blast toward Aladdin's direction, but Aladdin had the advantage of speed and dodging behind one of the hissing U-serpents. So the blast ended up hitting Garan's leg instead of its intended target. And from the hiss the U-serpent gave, Aladdin figured Garan wasn't happy about that.

But he wasn't going to stick around long enough to find out.

* * *

Daleel realized his snake disenchanter flute had its intended effect from the shouts and hisses he heard a distance away. He realized he needed to do something since his magic had teleported him close to where Aladdin had been, though it'd taken him some time to figure out what to do after seeing a brief vision of events. It wasn't easy crafting such a careful spell when he could barely see the path in front of him and felt dizzy enough to fall over.

He leaned against the wall of the Cave of Wonders underground, playing the melody carefully. Closing his eyes helped, but every so often he would open them to make sure that no one was too close to catch him off guard.

He realized that someone was indeed approaching his direction from the sound of steps echoing through the way. He wasn't sure whether it was friend or foe, so he stopped the melody and retreated into his hiding place. It was hard for the boy to scramble up the rock and get into a position where he could look over anyone that might be coming up the path, but he managed to just get on the ledge when he saw Aladdin running into the area. Xerxes wasn't far behind him. And that meant Mozenrath wouldn't be too far either.

Daleel tried to think of another spell he could use to stop the flying creature. It didn't take him too long. Something quick, easy, and - more importantly - sticky.

Xerxes was close enough on Aladdin's trail that Daleel decided he'd throw the spell ahead of when he originally wanted to. He chanted a few words, cupped his hands in front of him, and threw the ball of light down into the area.

The magic spread into a net of sticky web that trapped Xerxes against a nearby wall.

"Hey! Stuck. Let out! Let out!" Xerxes cried.

Aladdin turned around, scratching his head at the sight of Xerxes. "Where did that come from? If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone was definitely helping me. I wish I knew who." Aladdin seemed to look around the area to see if anyone was there, but he didn't notice Daleel's hiding place.

"In any case, I need to find Jasmine and Carpet before anything else happens. We've gotta get those herbs back to Safir before Daleel gets any worse."

Daleel felt a knot in his gut twist further at Aladdin's words. He was glad to be there to help Aladdin, but he felt guilty leaving Safir, Genie and the others behind. But he knew what he had to do.

At a safe distance, the boy followed the Prince, determined to make sure that none of the terrifying visions he'd come to see of their demise would happen. He just had to hold on long enough to make sure of it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Follow, Follow, Follow**

Jasmine had managed to find Carpet among a large pile of debris, but it took her forever to clear enough space to where she could try to pull him out. Even with that effort, she still couldn't manage it.

"You're really stuck in there, aren't you Carpet?"

Carpet hung his knobs as if he were sad, but then perked up when a familiar voice registered a distance away.

"Need some help, Princess?" Aladdin lowered himself down from over a group of rocks caused by the cave-in from before. Jasmine looked relieved.

"You're okay! You looked like you'd fallen into that dark abyss."

Aladdin shrugged. "Actually I did fall a ways down. But I'll explain later - we need to get Carpet and get out of here. Do you still have the herbs?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I almost lost them running from the cave-in, but luckily I found a way to get them back. It also led me to a path where I found Carpet. I still can't get him out."

Aladdin rubbed his hands together, grabbed one end of Carpet while Jasmine got the other.

"Okay, pull!" Aladdin said, and the two started pulling as hard as they could. It was odd because the sudden snap of Carpet coming free sent the Prince and Princess tumbling back into the sandy path, where they coughed while Carpet celebrated his newfound freedom.

"That was far easier than earlier when I was trying to get him out. You must be lucky, Aladdin." Jasmine stopped when she saw Aladdin looking at the place where Carpet had just been trapped. She followed his gaze, and gasped.

"I don't think I'm that lucky, Jasmine," he said, pointing to a mound of sand that had replaced where the heavy debris of rocks had once been. Carpet looked equally confused.

Aladdin stood, scooping a hand full of sand and letting it sift between his fingers. "Who could've done this? It wasn't even a moment before when all of this were rocks. It had to be someone wielding magic to do this much."

"Is someone really following us?" Jasmine said, looking over her shoulder. "But if it was, why would they be helping us now, when earlier..."

Aladdin shook his head. "No, it's someone different. Earlier, I'm pretty sure it was Mozenrath." He explained his encounter with the U-serpents, Mozenrath, and Xerxes, followed by the mysterious figure that had trapped Xerxes in a spider-like web and had also a played a flute that allowed him to escape from the U-serpents.

"I can't believe Mozenrath would team up with them, but who do you think helped you? Someone we know?"

"I have no idea." Aladdin looked over his shoulder at the path he'd come and around the area. He didn't see anything at odds, and it wasn't like he could see any obvious hiding places. "But if they're helping us, why would they think they need to hide from us?"

"Maybe we should try to reach out to them," Jasmine suggested. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out. "Hello? Is someone there? We just want to thank you for your help. Please, don't be afraid." Both of them waited, even as Jasmine's voice echoed through the way, it was the only sound either of them heard.

"You think they're still there?" Aladdin asked.

"I don't know. But I hope they heard me. Let's go."

Aladdin and Jasmine boarded Carpet, and they sped through the underground to try to find a way back out of the Cave of Wonders.

* * *

Genie, Iago, Abu, and Safir all arrived in the Cave of Wonders treasure room.

"You think Daleel is somewhere with them?" Safir asked Genie. "What if Mozenrath or the U-serpents got to him?" He put his face in his hands again, sobbing. Abu climbed up a treasure mound and reached Safir's shoulder, patting the merchant turned magic wielder on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Safir, we'll find them. I have a foolproof solution!" Genie pulled out a strange remote control contraption, complete with many pushable buttons, a blinking screen, and two antennae.

"What's that supposed to be?" Iago asked.

Genie transformed into a professor with glasses, a long lab coat, and fluffy mustache. He spoke in an exaggerated accent. "It is only my latest invention, one that allows me to remotely track a certain magic carpet to wherever he might be at the present moment. If Daleel came here to find Al and Jas, then we'll find him wherever we find them. Observe." Genie pushed several buttons, but nothing happened. Genie's hopeful expression turned to a scowl.

"It's not working," Iago said dryly. "For a semi-phenomenal nearly cosmic powered being, does it ever occur to you _that none of your stuff ever works_?"

Genie gave him a side eye glance. "Oh, there's no need to jump to odd conclusions, my fine feathered friend. It just needs a little adjustments." Genie threw the contraption on the ground, started kicking, stomping and beating it along its sides. Safir and Abu watched Genie, wincing with each attempt.

Apparently, that's what it took for the controller's screen to light up and beat in a steady rhythm.

"See? Nothing to it." Genie said with a wink.

Safir peered over Genie's shoulder to the controller's screen. "If that contraption is to be believed, then the magic carpet must be somewhere below where we are."

"Does that mean we have to go underground? Really? That's a long dark way down, ya know?" Iago said.

"I don't know why you're complaining, Iago. It might be dark, but you can still fly down there," Genie pointed out, reverting to his normal voice.

"Just because I have wings _does not_ mean I wanna see what's down there!"

"Well, for some of us who are flight-challenged," Genie said, using his magic to put parachutes on Safir, Abu, and himself, " we'll need the proper equipment. Last one down's a featherweight!" Genie tapped his heels together and jumped through one of the areas leading to the underground of the Cave of Wonders.

Abu looked down where Genie disappeared, shrugged his shoulders, then shouted "Look out below!" before disappearing down the hole.

Safir sighed. "I wonder how I get myself into these very precarious situations."

"I ask myself the same question all the time, and usually the answer is that I always get suckered in. Call it a guilt complex," Iago said, shrugging. But both of them, despite their hesitation, disappeared down the hole as well.

Aladdin sighed as they came to yet another dead end. "I guess we can't get out this way either. Mozenrath's magic closed off a lot of places we could've easily gone to get out of here."

"I guess we should backtrack to the last place we came, see if we can get out that way," Jasmine said, though she noticed the way Carpet seemed to sag a little. She ran her fingers along his fabric. "I'm sorry Carpet, I know you're tired. We all are."

"Not to mention we're running out of time to help Daleel. We need to get back. There has to be some way...Jasmine, look!" Aladdin's eyes widened, and the three of them noticed a warm shimmering light filling the cave, which seemed to clear the once blocked path in front of them and opening up to a familiar place. They were back on the path that would lead them to the treasure room.

"All right! I can't believe it." Aladdin said, but then an audible groan suddenly came from an area behind them.

Jasmine's eyes widened. "Did you hear that?"

"I did. Stay here, I'm going to see where it came from." Aladdin lept off Carpet, and backtracked a little down the path they came to where the sound came from. At first he heard something of a whimper, and then muffled shouts of "No, no, no!"

Someone was in trouble, but it was hard to tell who or what it was. Aladdin gripped a few rocks and started climbing to the origin of the sound, which led to a crawlspace. He imagined someone small would have an easier time making their way here, but he had trouble pushing himself through without effort.

Once he made his way through, Aladdin realized he couldn't stand in the space so he had to keep crawling through the path, his hands moving along sand. The area was dark, and he could barely see where he was going, but he followed the sound of muffled conversation. One of the voices he recognized almost immediately. Xerxes sounded particularly angry.

"Fool you are to help Aladdin. Master not happy. Trap me once, not trap me again! Must be stopped, _must be stopped!_"

Aladdin followed the sounds of struggle, into an open area where he saw Xerxes had wrapped himself around the neck of someone he was trying to restrain. Aladdin's chest grew tight as he recognized the figure, who looked pale from not being able to breathe.

"Daleel! Let him go, Xerxes!" Aladdin rushed over, grabbing a startled Xerxes by the throat.

"Stop, stop, stop! Let go now!" Xerxes protested, trying to wiggle out of Aladdin's grasp as Aladdin unwrapped the creature from Daleel's throat. Aladdin then stuffed Xerxes head between two rocks to where the creature couldn't get out quickly, leaving Xerxes flopping around trying to get out like a fish stranded on land.

Daleel coughed, gasping for air. He collapsed into Aladdin's arms as Aladdin rushed over to the boy. Daleel didn't seem to recognize him as he pushed against Aladdin weakly. "Please, leave me alone. Let me go..."

"Daleel, it's _me_! Easy, kid," Aladdin protested. Daleel stopped, and looked up. Aladdin noticed his eyes were glossy, clouded even.

"Aladdin?"

"Yeah, it's me," he repeated calmly. "How did you get here? What happened?"

Daleel sank against Aladdin weakly. "I'm sorry. You guys were in trouble, and I couldn't...I couldn't..."

"Wait - you were the one helping us from earlier, weren't you?"

"Yes. I had several visions of you guys being in trouble. Safir didn't believe me, so I - I used a spell to get here, and - I'm really sorry. I can't see anything so I didn't notice Xerxes followed me."

"You can't see me?"

Daleel shook his head. "I lost my sight a little while after I came up here. I'd been following you guys a while, and using my magic where I could help, but it's been affecting how I see things for a while. I can hear really well, though, so I knew you were around, but I thought Mozenrath was here and was about to attack me."

"Well, as long as I'm here, he's not going to. Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Wait - you're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be?" Aladdin knelt by the boy. "Worried, yeah, but mad, no. And the others are probably really worried about you too, especially with how sick you are. I am glad you helped us out, but the others are probably out of their minds wondering what happened to you. And if using your magic is making you worse, then you shouldn't do it. We'll figure out another way to get around. It's not worth losing you."

"Get me out. Out, out, out!" Xerxes complained a distance away. Daleel had been stunned into silence for a while, but then he threw his arms around Aladdin's neck, surprising even the Prince.

"Thanks Aladdin."

"Sure." Aladdin said, smiling. "Now let's go before Xerxes lets on to anyone that we're here."

* * *

Aladdin helped Daleel climb down the crawlspace from where they'd both entered the way. The boy still wobbled on his feet a little from the fever he held, but Aladdin was surprised that Daleel was still standing - all things considered.

"You really went through a lot getting here, didn't you?" Aladdin asked.

Daleel shrugged, even as he held Aladdin's arm as the Prince guided him down the way to meet up with Jasmine and Carpet. "If I were better, using as much magic as I did wouldn't be anything. I really wanna be a powerful sorcerer when I grow up. Edelina didn't teach me all that magic for nothing. Same as Safir."

"I'm sure if Edelina were here, she'd be proud of you. Safir too."

"I hope Safir's not too mad at me, leaving the way I did."

Daleel suddenly stopped walking and pulled on Aladdin's wrist. "Wait, stop a minute."

Aladdin looked over his shoulder, looking down at the boy."What is it?"

"You said Jasmine and Carpet are up ahead, right? I don't hear them. It's quiet."

Aladdin listened carefully and dropped his voice to a whisper, his brow narrowed. "You're right, it's too quiet. Stay close."

"Looking for s-someone, Aladdin?" The voice of the U-serpent came from above them. Faran had Carpet firmly restrained in his grasp, even as Carpet tried to fly away.

"Hey, let him go!" Aladdin said, standing at attention.

"Are you willing to trade, then? I can release the rug if you hand over the boy."

Aladdin's jaw set on edge, and he positioned himself in front of Daleel. "Not a chance."

"Well, then, you'll just have to do without your precious-s carpet then. Unless you dare to follow us-s, street rat. You might be s-surprised by how many of your friends-s we've come across-s."

As Faran ran ahead, Aladdin motioned forward. "Come on, I don't think we have any choice but to follow him."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Cure**

Daleel felt his movements through the sand slow a lot more than he bargained for, even as Aladdin helped steady him as they chased after Faran and Carpet. He was certain that the poison within him was taking its intended effect, but usually the sluggishness of his body was a sign of another vision coming on, at least as far as he'd had since following Aladdin and the others and helping them. He'd been able to predict some of the movements that Mozenrath and the U-serpents had taken against Aladdin, Jasmine and Carpet as they struggled to make their way out of the Cave of Wonders. Yet, Daleel hadn't expected to lose his vision entirely, nor for Xerxes to catch onto him so quickly.

He was lucky Aladdin arrived when he did, but he knew he was getting worse.

Aladdin noticed when Daleel's knees suddenly gave out on him.

"Come on, kid - hang in there. If I can manage to get Carpet free, I can take you back to Safir's place at least."

"No, I don't think that'll help...they're all here."

Aladdin's voice didn't mask his surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I-I see them." Daleel watched the vision pass before his eyes: Mozenrath, and one of the other U-serpents stood in a section of the Cave of Wonders underground - with Genie trapped in a magic bottle - Safir, Abu, and Iago captured as well.

But Jasmine wasn't there. Daleel could see that Mozenrath was annoyed, and the other two U-serpents looked cross, but he couldn't tell what they were saying, not with how fast the vision played.

Before Daleel could say anything, he felt himself shudder. His body felt even more tired, and he wasn't sure if he could run anymore.

"Daleel, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes." Aladdin's voice was faint compared to the ringing in the boy's ears. But another familiar voice not too far away caught his attention.

"Aladdin? Are you okay?"

"Jasmine? Where were you?"

"Running away from one of the U-serpents, but I managed to get away thanks to Carpet. Looks like we're not the only ones...why's Daleel here?"

Aladdin sighed. "It's a long story. We have to get him the cure. He's not going to make it the longer we wait. He was trying to tell me that everyone's here, but didn't say anything else."

"I think I know what he means. Genie, Iago, Abu and Safir are all here. And they're all captured. That's the bad news."

"You mean to tell me there's something good after that?" Aladdin asked.

"Well, for one thing we still have the herbs. And thanks to your street skills rubbing off on me, I managed to get this off one of the U-serpents. I think it was Safir's before they captured him - I wish I could have stopped them."

Aladdin gasped. "Hey, I think that's part of the potion that Safir was making in his lab. I remember the recipe in the book. That means Genie, Iago and Abu were able to get their parts in. Now all we have to do is add the herbs we have to the flask. Great grab, Jasmine."

"Thanks. One problem, though," the Princess warned. "How do we know how much to add to this? If we add too much, it may not work. We don't want to make him worse."

"I'm trying to remember what Safir's book said. I think we're only supposed to add enough so that the potion turns a certain color. The first stage was red, the second's blue...which is the color it is now. If we add enough of the herb to turn it purple, it should be enough. We'll just have to risk it - it's better than leaving him like this."

Daleel couldn't see what they were doing, but when he felt the glass lip of the flask against his lips, he realized he needed to drink what he could of the potion. It was really bitter, enough to make him cough several times. But the stinging in his eyes finally started to ease, and he could start to see shapes leaning over him where he hadn't before.

"Aladdin, I think it's working - he's coming to."

"Daleel, you okay?" Aladdin and Jasmine both looked over him as he lay on the sands. Daleel groaned, and rubbed at his eyes. He was lying on the ground, with Aladdin holding him partly upright.

The boy nodded. "I can see again, though I'm still a little dizzy."

"Looks like your fever's starting to go down a little too," Jasmine said, smiling as she placed a hand just over Daleel's brow. "It might take a while, but at least now you should be okay."

"I know one thing - Mozenrath and the U-serpents aren't going to get away with this," Aladdin said, helping Daleel to his feet.

"Well, whatever we do, we'll have to do it without my magic," Daleel said, his shoulders dropping. "The potion might be helping me see and get rid of the poison, but it's also an anti-magic potion - I'm not gonna be able to do anything with my powers until it wears off."

Aladdin smiled. "I think we may not need magic. Listen closely." The three of them huddled together as Aladdin discussed a plan, and Daleel knew exactly what he had to do.

* * *

"How hard is it to find a street rat, a princess, and a sick kid in this place? You should've _found_ them by now," Mozenrath complained. "I've done more to keep my end of this bargain, but I have yet to see it from you three." Mozenrath held an anti-magic flask containing a worried Genie scrunched in its confines. Faran and Ajan shared a look of annoyance between each other.

"We are combing the areas-s as best as we can. They'll be found s-soon enough. And even if they are - we have more than enough leverage," Ajan hissed as he looked at where Safir, Abu, and Iago were held captive along a nearby dungeon wall. Iago appeared annoyed, while Safir and Abu seemed to wear the same expression of weariness.

"At the very least, I've also captured their magic carpet," Faran declared as he pointed to where Carpet was tied in multiple knots along a column.

"That does put them at a significant disadvantage, I have to admit. One that would usually make me revel in Aladdin's misery - seeing all of his significantly powerful friends in my grasp," Mozenrath said, "But it doesn't explain how you managed to lose Aladdin and the boy while they were following you."

"I think the boy succumbed to his-s respective s-sickness, s-sorcerer. At least that's-s what it looked like to me. Aladdin certainly seemed worried the last I s-saw him," Faran said.

"Daleel!" Safir cried, struggling against his confines. "If anything happens to him, you snakes will..."

"We will what, merchant?" Ajan snapped, his face hovering inches from Safir's. "Whatever threats-s you may make, you must realize that they are useless-s."

Safir shrank back against the wall, his shoulders slumping.

"Hate to break it to ya, Safir, but ya might wanna wrap your turban a little tighter, cause talking right now isn't exactly gonna help our case," Iago suggested. "Not unless you wanna become dinner for these guys."

"You s-should be one to talk, bird." Ajan hissed. "If it comes-s to the point where we'll need new recruits to pick, you'll be the first we convert."

Iago laughed nervously. "Seriously, I'd rather you keep your slimy snake saliva as far away from me as possible."

Before Ajan could say anything else, Xerxes came flying into the area in a flurry of panic and noticeably out of breath. "They're coming! They're coming!"

"Xerxes, I trust you have good news to report to us. Otherwise, I might just be in a very,_ very_ bad mood." Mozenrath conjured a wave of dark magic with his glove.

"Uh, some good, some not so good, master will notice."

"Well then, you'd better give me the bad news first and not waste our time," Mozenrath said.

Xerxes grimaced. "Merchant's boy is cured. Aladdin and Princess on their way with boy."

Safir's face brightened with relief at Xerxes words. Iago, Abu, and Genie all looked equally shocked.

Ajan slapped a palm against his forehead. "Garan was s-supposed to take care of the Princess-s. Much less-s the herbs and potion."

"Even I realize that the fair Princess Jasmine isn't one to be taken lightly. I've had to learn that the hard way." Mozenrath turned to Xerxes after speaking to Ajan. "I hope your good news is worth double that announcement."

Xerxes laughed with a sly grin on his features. "I overheard plans. They come unaware. Boy is powerless without magic."

Mozenrath's brow raised. "Really? Well enlighten us, because we need to know whatever plan they have in store, if we want to greet them with their destruction."

Iago winced. "Why do I get the feeling that this is not gonna end well?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Breathe No Evil**

"Mozenrath and Garan aren't down there," Aladdin said as he looked around the area where Genie and the others were held captive. "But Faran and Ajan are. "

"I hope I'm not the only one who finds something odd about that, though it is possible Garan's still left in that trap I set for him," Jasmine said, her fingers teasing the end of her hair.

Daleel's brows raised. "What did you do?"

"Carpet and I were running away from both Garan and Faran a little while back when Aladdin went to help you. They tried to ambush us. We were able to hide for a little while, but I knew we couldn't run from them for too long, so we had to slow them down somehow. Carpet covered himself with sand and covered a hole that dropped down a little further underground. Garan stepped on the trap, I told Carpet to pull back, and Garan fell into the hole. Garan hissed a good while since he couldn't easily leap up to catch us."

"You came up with that plan?" Aladdin asked, amused.

Jasmine bumped his shoulder with her own. "I might've. A little spur of the moment." Her sly expression fell to a serious one, as a thought crossed her mind. "You don't think Mozenrath went to help Garan, do you?"

Aladdin snorted. "Mozenrath doesn't help anyone but himself. If anything, he's probably planning something, which means we have to be a step ahead of him." He looked down to where Iago, Abu, and Safir were held captive with shackles along the wall. "There's three of us and only two of the U-serpents, but I don't trust what it looks like down there. Daleel, you still have your flute?"

Daleel nodded. "The one that the U-serpents don't like? Yep. You told me in the plan I'm supposed to play it?"

"Yeah, you've got it. I'm changing the plan though. Playing the flute and then trying to get the others out would take too much time. I'm gonna go myself and try to untie Carpet while their guard's down. You guys'll have to be our eyes and play the flute if things get bad."

"Aladdin, if they catch you..."

"They're not going to, Princess." He winked. "Trust me. I think if anyone can think of a good way of distracting anybody, it's Genie."

* * *

Genie indeed seemed to be a distraction for the Faran and Ajan as they fussed over who would guard over the bottle he was trapped in.

"I told you it was-s my turn!" Ajan hissed, his yellow eyes flaring.

"You've had it long enough, Ajan. The s-sorcerer told me it was-s my charge!"

"You're only saying that to gather favor with him," Ajan said.

Faran's tongue flickered from his mouth. "Well then, what would be your motivations-s for having it?"

Genie rolled his eyes, resting a hand under his chin, elbow propped on one knee as he sat in a fancy aqua bottle. "Geez, I was told that I had a face only a mother could love, but now I'm being fought over by a couple of overgrown snakes. Does that mean snakes love my face too?"

Genie transformed into a snake form of himself, which caused both Ajan and Faran to look at him with disdain. Genie continued, oblivious to their reactions. "Do you think this-s is a good look for me, because s-seriously, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to s-slur my words as much as you guys-s do."

Ajan narrowed his eyes. "The Genie is-s annoying."

Faran nodded. "You s-said it."

Genie reverted back to his usual form. "Seriously, that's the one thing out of the last ten discussions you guys decide to agree on?"

Iago cut his eyes over to the three. "It's not as if they aren't telling the truth."

Safir and Abu looked between each other, totally confused.

When another round of arguments between the U-serpents started, Safir noticed a shadow moving beyond Carpet's confines. He squinted slightly, and from around a corner, he recognized the figure bending down to untie the binds that held Carpet in place.

"Aladdin?" Safir said in a low voice.

Aladdin put a finger to his lips briefly, pointing upward in a far corner of the underground in the Cave of Wonders. Safir's eyes followed the point, and he immediately felt a flood of relief seeing Jasmine and Daleel above them, watching the area carefully.

Iago noticed too. "Oh sure, the kid decides to show up and saves the rug first. Does it ever occur to you that you might have your priorities a little jumbled when you decide to save a piece of decor versus something with flesh, blood, and maybe _a little bit_ of plumage?"

Aladdin's voice was barely above a whisper. "Easy Iago, I just got here. And Carpet's the easiest to get to. Hang on, I've almost got him out. Stay steady, Carpet."

Carpet seemed anything but. He tried to tug with some frantic movements that seemed to be motioning to something, but couldn't because of the binds around him.

"Carpet, hold still," Aladdin repeated. "Do you want them to find us?"

"You've already been found, Prince of Agrabah, s-so why don't you s-stay still long enough to die?"

Aladdin froze as the U-serpent's voice came from behind him, loud and alerting the attention of everyone in the area. Aladdin turned quickly enough to see the claws above, ready to skewer him from the darkness.

* * *

Daleel had been about to blow the flute the moment he'd seen Garan emerge from shadow and loom over Aladdin's efforts to free Carpet. From the angle they were, it was easy to see Aladdin trying to free Carpet, but other angles wouldn't have provided the same view - except from where Garan approached.

A startled gasp stopped him though, and Daleel turned to see Jasmine struggling against a smiling Mozenrath, with Xerxes by his side.

"Jasmine!" Daleel cried. "Let her go!"

"As long as you don't blow that flute, I can assure you nothing will happen to her. Actually, I'm more inclined to take _very_ good care of her," Mozenrath said. Daleel bristled at the sweetness in the sorcerer's tone.

Jasmine didn't like it either, as she tensed, grimacing at how Mozenrath had an arm around her, while at the same time, holding up a gloved hand full of his trademark sand magic.

"Actually, I'm a little surprised at how well this trap worked out," Mozenrath continued. "Not bad, Xerxes. It turns out that aside from a slight deviation in the plan, it worked out well."

Xerxes chuckled. "Plan failed. Trap well."

"You overheard us, didn't you?" Daleel said, turning to Xerxes.

"Plan too easy. All fools!"

"I have to agree with him, if you thought a simple plan like that would trick any of us," Mozenrath said, his lip turning up in a small grin. "But now it's time for the show to begin. I, for one, am going to enjoy watching the demise of a certain Prince of Agrabah. Let's hope it's worth the price of admission."

* * *

Aladdin had managed to evade both of Garan's swipes with his claws, but as Aladdin tumbled out of his hiding place, everyone - including the other U-Serpents - noticed.

"Oh, hey Al. How's it going? I _really_ hope you have a plan 'B'." Genie said, his voice echoing from the bottle.

"I'm working on it, Genie," Aladdin muttered, realizing he was surrounded by the U-serpents. His body was in a defensive position, ready to fight and dodge if he had to. Though he knew his odds weren't good between three angry, razor clawed U-serpents ready to tackle him, he was going to try anyway.

"Aladdin, Aladdin!" Abu screeched, struggling against his confines. Safir looked equally worried, especially when he suddenly saw Ajan rush forward, ready to use his body as a battering ram to knock Aladdin to the sands.

Aladdin was fast, though. He evaded not only both the battering attempt, but several swipes of Ajan's claws. It ended with a charge that Ajan made, with Aladdin dodging at the last minute to have Ajan hit against a rock hard surface.

That didn't sit too well with the U-serpent, as his hisses filled the area.

"If that's the best you can do, this fight isn't going to last very long," Aladdin said, taunting the snake.

"You s-seem to forget you're outnumbered, s-street rat. And we have powers-s to use against you, courtesy of this magic bottle that Mozenrath provided us-s," Faran said.

"What is with you guys trying to use _my _magic against_ my_ friends...I've gotta stop getting myself in these situations," Genie complained while his hands pressed against the inside of the glass bottle. Once time before, Genie had been trapped in a recapture lamp which the U-serpents used his magic against Aladdin and the others. But that plan had failed when Aladdin had used the lamp to wish for Genie's freedom just before the U-serpents could attack him.

Faran ignored Genie's words. Summoning the latent powers of the bottle, Faran held Genie's container out in front of him. The bottle began to glow, and Genie started yelping several times.

"Genie!" Aladdin cried, but he couldn't stand there for long as a blast of magic rushed toward him like lightning bolts. Aladdin rolled out of the way, and noticed the bolts hit the sands in the area. The magic left black streaks in the sand where he'd once stood, like burn marks.

"Not good, definitely NOT good," Iago said, wincing. "If you guys have any ideas right about now, it'd be a good time to act on 'em."

Safir considered Iago's words. He didn't want anything to happen to Aladdin and wanted all of them to escape as soon as they could, but the only plan he could think of would be to move beyond his usual magic wielding and try to melt their binds. It would drain him, though, and he wouldn't be able to move, much less wield any magic. His specialty was in using healing magic. He could heal physical wounds and certain poisons, but not those inflicted by the U-serpents. He remembered trying to heal Daleel of his blindness, but Daleel's body had rejected the magic, which was why they were all in this situation in the first place. It wracked his body with a heavy sense of guilt and fatigue.

But what would be the situation if he didn't at least try? He closed his eyes and started to concentrate, focusing his magic.

In the meantime, Aladdin found himself dodging more magic, but mistimed one of his steps and realized Garan and Ajan had positioned themselves behind him, grabbing his arms and holding him in place. Aladdin's breath hitched.

"Let go of me!"

"Not a chance, s-street rat!" Garan finished. "Go Faran, finish the boy off. It will be by the Genie's own magic that the Prince will meet his end."

Iago's beak fell open in shock. Abu screeched. Carpet still tried to wrench himself free from his confines where Aladdin had untied some of them earlier, but it still wasn't enough to free him. Safir forced himself to concentrate his magic despite his concern for Aladdin. Jasmine tried to wrench herself out of Mozenrath's arms, but the sorcerer held his grip firm against her. Daleel went to blow his flute, tired of feeling helpless, but Xerxes stopped him by wrapping his body along the boy's neck as a warning.

Aladdin's eyes were wide as he struggled against both Ajan and Garan's grips, but their hold didn't yield.

Faran frowned, hissing. "No, I've a better idea. Finishing him off s-so quickly won't do. I'd like to s-see the bait wiggle on his hook."

"This is proving more entertaining than I expected," Mozenrath said, grinning.

"Entertaining! Entertaining!" Xerxes followed. Daleel winced from Xerxes movements, which tightened the grip on his neck.

Faran lowered Genie's bottle, where Genie recovered, gasping having his magic yanked from him forcefully.

Approaching Aladdin, Faran grabbed a fist full of Aladdin's hair, yanking his face to meet Faran's. If the action hurt the prince, Aladdin didn't show it. He stared at Ajan with as fierce of an expression as the U-serpent gave him.

"We'll s-stick to the original plan of eliminating him," Faran hissed.

"My treatment?" Ajan said, excitement coloring his voice.

Aladdin rolled his eyes. "Really, you guys are just gonna bite me again? You really need to come up with some original material."

"You don't get it, do you s-street rat?" Ajan said. "You may have beaten our treatment before, but you know nothing of our variant abilities."

"Yes-s." Garan agreed. "I have the ability to convert those who have darkness in their hearts-s to join our team. It may be temporary or permanent depending on the person. You were fortunate enough to beat it before. But Ajan has-s the ability to disable the senses-s at will."

"I bit the boy and caused him to go blind. Took away his sense of s-sight before you found the cure," Ajan said, his expression dark. "But you won't be s-so lucky, Aladdin."

"So what are you planning to do with me?" Aladdin asked, his eyes never leaving Faran's. Aladdin felt his chest tighten with how they held him, but he wasn't going to let his fear show.

"Let's just s-say that you'll have a hard time catching your breath when I'm done." Ajan laughed and bared his fangs.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Close Call**

Aladdin struggled against them, but it wasn't enough to deter Ajan from biting into his shoulder, at least in part.

What stopped him from completely sinking his fangs into Aladdin with the full effect of the venom was Safir's magic suddenly working at once. A flash filled the area, catching all of them off guard.

Carpet, Abu, Iago, and Safir suddenly all found themselves freed, even as Safir slumped forward from exhaustion.

Jasmine took the moment of distraction to stomp her foot hard on Mozenrath's. Mozenrath grunted, releasing his grip on her. At the same time, Daleel felt Xerxes grip on his neck loosen, and he took the opportunity to grab hold of Xerxes body, unwrap him, and throw him against a nearby rocky wall, stunning the creature into silence.

That's when Daleel took the opportunity to play a short melody on his flute, which made all the U-serpents hiss with pain. Aladdin took the opportunity to slip out of the chaos, stealing Genie's bottle without a second thought from Faran's doubled form.

Clutching his shoulder, spotted with his own blood, Aladdin ran to Safir's side.

"Safir, you okay?"

Safir might've been slumped over, but he was wide awake. "Me? Fine, Prince, I just can't move. You should be more worried about yourself."

"Only thing I'm worried about is getting us out of here. Carpet, come on!"

At Aladdin's words, Carpet showed up as Abu - who took Genie's bottle, Iago, and Aladdin - while helping Safir- boarded him.

Jasmine grabbed Daleel's hand and they raced forward away from Mozenrath and Xerxes, but there wasn't far to run as they came close to the cliff's edge. Mozenrath readied his magic to aim a blast at the two, to keep them from escaping, but Daleel was quick to offer a suggestion.

"Jump, Princess!"

The two leapt off the cliff, which had Jasmine screaming "Carpet!" as they descended quickly. Carpet came and caught them even with a full load.

"Carpet, let's move!" Aladdin said, and the lot of them sped out of the area, and out of the Cave of Wonders.

* * *

"They're not following us, so I'm guessing we did something right," Aladdin said, wincing as they sped through the desert skyline back to Agrabah.

"Aladdin, your shoulder," Jasmine began, but as she pulled back the torn fabric of his tunic, she saw that the wound was almost nearly healed.

Genie, freed from his bottle, used an oversized magnifying glass to peer. "It looks like the wound is healing itself, but Al, you don't feel funny at all?"

Aladdin shook his head. "No. I mean, it stings, but since it's healing, I don't feel like I'm having a hard time breathing or anything. Not like they said it would."

"I don't think Ajan's venom had a chance to enter your wound, Aladdin," Safir offered. "That's one of the reasons why the wounds heal themselves - to trap the poison inside one's body."

"Well, I guess I'm lucky your magic kicked in right when it did. I should thank you both." He looked between Safir and Daleel, who winced and whose shoulders fell.

"It was my fault you guys were in this situation to begin with," Daleel said in a low voice.

Iago started to say "You've got that right", but Genie and Abu clamped hands over Iago's beak and grinned sheepishly.

"I wouldn't say that, m'boy. I actually owe you an apology. I should've taken your claims more seriously," Safir said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"You're not mad at me, Safir?"

"Oh trust me, I was angry a little, but more worried about you. And I think it was a noble thing you did for Aladdin and the others back there. So knowing that you are well and things worked out - I suppose I can't be angry anymore."

Daleel threw his arms around Safir. "Thanks Safir."

"It's just too bad I can't feel you hugging me. This always happens with my magic."

That got a low laugh from Aladdin and Jasmine both. Jasmine leaned her head on Aladdin's good shoulder.

"So does this mean Mozenrath's probably second guessing working with the U-serpents?" Jasmine asked.

Aladdin shook his head. "I don't know. Somehow...I don't think we've heard the last from those guys."

* * *

"They've gotten away, the wretches!" Ajan hissed.

"At least your bite connected. Perhaps-s the Prince will s-suffer the fate of the boy, since you bit him." Garan offered.

"No, I didn't even have time to let the poison s-sink in. Those fools were too fortunate."

Mozenrath rolled his eyes and sighed. "Outwitted by a boy with magic and a Prince and Princess who still get under my cloak. Let's just say I was intrigued by the display you three put on for a time, but you highly disappointed me."

"You can tell yourself that s-sorcerer, but you allowed them to escape just as well!" Ajan protested.

Mozenrath shook his head. "No, they'll be time to get them. More than enough. But next time, I'm going to call the shots."

"Next time?" The three U-serpents looked puzzled, but intrigued at the same time.

Xerxes didn't look too happy with that announcement. "First let them go, and then work with snakes again?" He hissed in Mozenrath's ear.

"Trust me, Xerxes. I may have let Aladdin and the others go this time, but next time, they won't be so lucky. This was the snakes show to play, and it was their failure, not mine. I have a feeling that these snakes might be the key to getting rid of them, if the magic's played right."

Mozenrath turned away from the chattering snakemen, chuckling low under his breath.

THE END


End file.
